Recently we have posted two bank account bonuses that required a specific faith to join (Nizari Progressive Federal Credit Union & America’s Christian Credit Union). Several readers have asked if these requirements are legal. I suspect they question this because the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) prohibits discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction based on religion, race, color, national origin, sex, marital status, or age.
American Banker states that there are a few hundred faith-based credit unions (there were 867 Christian based credit unions in 1960). When credit unions start up they can be chartered at either the state or federal level and as part of that members need to define a common bond, this can include faith (called a faith-based charter). I assume as no credit decision is being made when you join a credit union ECOA does not apply.
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Of course this is legal. If it's legal to have a whites only town in the Ozarks, then this is definitely legal.
Irrelevant post + logic fail.
"Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you 25 basis points off your mortgage for life." (Revelation 2:10)
I've been looking for good bonus offers to join a Satanic credit union but haven't found anything yet.
I'd love to join it too :)
Why was #2133354 deleted?
Just turn off comments from the get go and save yourself some work, lol
Broke the upvote limit.
Broke the comment rules.
Which rule, specifically? Asking for my friend John #2134653
Removed those other comments also breaking the rules. And that comment was off topic among other things.
I know certain loans and banks only work with Jewish communities, offering interest free options and are not available to non-jews. I wasn't aware that there were other faith based institutions that limited to a particular faith, as I think anyone could invest with them. Credit Unions probably work a bit differently, considering there are credit unions for states only or business like American Airlines Credit union, but I don't think they care what faith you're in.
There are Islamic credit unions which offer riba-free loans, meaning without interest. They are funded by other people who deposit without interest.
They get dividends or some other kind of return to incentivize the use of the time value of money.
If I may --
Jewish Free Loan Assoc. is the oldest and maybe best known Jewish organization of this type, founded in 1904. It operates as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organziation.You don't have to be Jewish to get a loan, just a resident of LA, Ventura or SB Counties. You DO have to demonstrate need AND (very important) have a guarantor sign with you for the loan.The loans are no-interest, no fee loans, with normal funding and a principal repayment schedule.Unlike a bank or a CU, they don't take deposits. Funds for lending come from donations, incl. named funds for specific types of needs, e.g., pet medical bills. Also from repayment of outstanding loans. Sorta like Kiva.More: https://www.jfla.org/
BTW, they are only interest-free in name but they are not financially any better than a regular loan. They are identical to regular loans in terms of the payment schedule, etc. but are structured as a business investment instead of a loan for religious reasons.
Wrong. See my post above.
May have been posted previously: Although "smallest CU in America" can fluctuate by quarter, Holy Trinity Baptist Church FCU in Philadelphia is usually considered the smallest, with around $24,000 in assets (2023). See podcast/transcript linked below:
https://www.americanbanker.com/podcast/a-tiny-credit-unions-tall-order
Just a fly on the wall here.
I recommend another faith based bank account called ‘UIF’. They have a savings account currently paying 3.99% APR on $25k+ balances, no requirements. Account opening was pretty simple online and even though they are faith based, nothing is mandatory.
Vanguard Federal Money Market pays 4.22% right now on an infinite amount of money and no minimum either. It invests exclusively in U.S. Government Bonds so it's as safe as a bank account.
Credit Unions have always been designed to serve specific niche's, which you could call all of them "discriminatory" if you really wanted to. Present credit unions have heavily gotten away from their original purpose and tend to operate nationwide with a bunch of easy "loopholes". Anyone bothered by the religious version of it is just using selective outrage.
Many of the early credit unions were started to support unserved and underserved populations. Black credit unions, Chinese credit unions, and faith based credit unions have all been a thing in America since credit unions were a thing. By their nature almost all credit unions exclude most people from membership for a variety of reasons, most often location.
My first credit union (38 years ago) was based on employment. I think they expanded to people who lived in certain areas.